Last month the teenager and I headed off to Ireland to run the RocknRoll Dublin Remix. Race reports for that are here and here. Now let’s talk about the vacation aspect. This was the second time I’d been Ireland, although it had been a few…ok many…years.
Dublin
Dublin is a great city to explore on foot, which is exactly what we did, except for one day (after the 5k and before the half marathon the following day) when we rode the hop on/hop off bus. The Temple Bar area is Dublin’s cultural center, located on the South banks of the River Liffey.
Half Penny Bridge over the River Liffey
You’ll find restaurants, pubs, boutiques, and bustling nightlife there. If museums are your thing, there are plenty of those, including the James Joyce Museum and the Museum of Modern Art. If partaking of a creamy pint of Guinness is your style, there are plenty of pubs to help you with that. You may also want to tour the Guinness Brewery.
St. Stephens Green
Our hotel was on the outskirts of town, which left us with a pleasant walk to the city center passing right through St. Stephens Green, a lovely park admid the bustling city and adjacent to the main shopping area. It’s a perfect place to run without worrying about traffic.
Phoenix Park
This is where the RnR Dublin 5k took place and the half marathon ended. It’s 1752 acres of gorgeous wooded paths. The President of Ireland’s mansion is located here as is the Dublin Zoo. It’s a great location for a long run.
Food
We were not the most adventurous as far as traditional Irish fare goes. The teenager is picky to say the least so I did not push the envelope. We enjoyed some great food nonetheless.
Bacon, spring onion and baby roast potato pizza from Gotham Cafe was pretty spectacular.
Al fresco seating at the Gourmet Burger Kitchen afforded us a prime people-watching opportunity in the Temple Bar area. One of our favorite lunch places was O’Briens Sandwich Cafe.
The Bailey’s Irish Dream Waffle (yes there’s a waffle under there) from Lemon Crepe & Coffee Co. was my post-half marathon indulgence.
Day Trips
The last time we were in Ireland we drove down to Waterford to the Waterford Crystal factory where we got an amazing vase engraved for our anniversary. This time around we took two day trips, both of which I let the teenager choose and arrange. Both were excellent. The City of Cork is at Ireland’s Southern tip, while the Cliffs of Moher are on the West Coast.
Blarney Castle. Where you kiss the Blarney Stone. More on that in a sec. City of Cork and Blarney Castle
Ok so kissing the Blarney Stone for good luck. You’ve heard of it, right? How can we visit Ireland and not do this? So we did. I figured we’d find the Blarney Stone, give it a smooch and boom, leprachauns and pots of gold. Not so fast. First you must climb to the top of Blarney Castle. Fine, I love a good climb. The spiral stairs are steep and claustrophobic at times but hey. Once we got to the top though, we found this. One must lay and recline backbend- style over the side of the castle and kiss it there. I mean seriously. There was a mat and a ever-so-helpful guy there to aid in the process, but still. So weird. See the green? That’s the grass. On the ground. Far. Far. Below.
Besides visiting Blarney Castle, which has spectacularly lovely grounds I might add, we trekked around visiting various churches, abbeys and finally the city of Cork, which was much larger than I imagined. Here we tooled around, grabbed lunch at the English Market and enjoyed it outside along the river Lee.
Cliffs of Moher
The day after the half marathon, we headed out to Ireland’s West Coast to see the majestic Cliffs of Moher. Stunning does not do the cliffs justice. These pics don’t begin to express their sheer magnitude.
It is very, VERY windy here and we were warned repeatedly to be very careful as its quite easy and tempting to venture beyond the modest safety wall. Many people did, selfie sticks in hand. Um, no. Just no.
Climate
In Ireland, they say if it isn’t raining, it’s about to, so we packed raincoats and umbrellas, but only used the umbrellas for about 10 minutes one day. In August it was mostly overcast with temps in the mid-to-upper 60s. Most of the time we wore short sleeves with a zip hoodie that could be taken on and off and were perfectly comfy.
Transportation
Because traffic works in reverse (on the opposite side of the street) we had no interest in tempting fate and driving in Ireland. Taxis to and from the airport get pricey (think 50 Euros in traffic). We found the airport shuttle bus to be a good and much cheaper option. Reservations can be made ahead online for 6 Euros each or pay 8.50 on the bus. Allow extra time if you go the bus route though, as it can be slow going.
I could go on and on about this trip and dump gobs more pics on you but you get the idea. It was an epic trip of a lifetime and a priceless mother-daughter adventure I will cherish forever, and I hope she will too. We still laugh almost every day thinking back to something about this trip. I hope our trip feeds her intrepid, adventurous spirit, teaches her to be curious about the world and to never say never.
Have you been to Ireland? Where in the world would you most like to go?
Linking up with Lauren, Van, Isabel and Marcella for Wanderful Wednesday; with Chris and Heather, Lauren, Ashley, Amanda and Brian, and Carolann and Macrae for Weekend Wanderlust; and withLyn, Arnie and Jo, Sally-Ann, Anda, and Anisa and Katherine for The Weekly Postcard.
The views are breathtaking! The cliffs are so amazing and all the green, it always looks like a story book to me 🙂 What a blessing to be able to travel and have a fun mother daughter adventure like that. I am sure she will appreciate the experience 🙂
The kiss is too funny! It looks a bit intimidating really lol It is high.
Karen it really is so storybook-like! I thought they were joking about the Blarney Stone thing….until we got to the top of the castle! 😮
Beautiful pictures! The bed over backwards kiss must be a workout!
I’d really like to re-do my trip to Ireland one day with a big road trip! #WeekendWanderlust
Never been to Europe or vicinity (yet). I’ve heard of the Blarney Stone, and oh yes! I’d definitely do that 😉 Awesome pics!! What a great adventure for you and the daughter 😉
Ireland looks so beautiful. It’s the green – so much more intense than over here.
Char I need NEED to get Australia on my radar. Why do you have to be so far away?
Great photos of the cliffs – very atmospheric. I’ve always wanted to go to Blarney Castle and knew you had to crouch down to reach it but didn’t know you had to do a back-bend! A tour of the Guinness factory sounds good too. Thanks for posting – there’s some great ideas in here for an Ireland trip.
Oh m god!! This looks amazing!! Is that you kissing the castle? It looks really scary, but fun scary!
I decided last week that I should give up work and adult responsibilities to go explore the world!!
Wow those are gorgeous photos! I’ve never been to Dublin. Definitely on my list. Looks like you had a blast.
Looks like an amazing trip! I went to Ireland for a few days when I studied abroad in London. I kissed the Blarney stone, saw the Clifs of Moher, and enjoyed some Guinness:) I really want to go back at some point because i didnt really get to see everything I wanted to see. Gorgeous pics!
So beautiful! Ireland is definitely on my bucket list. Glad you had such a great trip!
It’s been several years since I’ve been to Ireland, but it’s funny because the last time I was there, I went to the exact same places you did. There is (or at least used to be) a marathon on the Cliff of Moher – can you even imagine??? Your pictures are lovely and it sounds like you had a wonderful time. Thanks for sharing with us!
Just beautiful! I can see why the Irish love green. Looks like you lucked out on the weather too! What a great way yo make memories!
I saw your pics & so jealous!! 🙂 Beautiful!!!! I would take a weekend away right now! 🙂
Great post! I often wonder if the Irish made the whole Blarney Stone thing so awkward just to see who they could get to do it. I just imagine the locals laughing about it later at the pub! 😉
We spent two weeks in Ireland about 2 years ago. It was amazing. It rained every day – but only for about 10 minutes a couple of times a day. Very strange. I’d love to go back again.
What. Fantastic mother /daughter vacation! I have been to Ireland before but wish I had documented my trip a little better (it was before I had a smart phone..lol) .
I too thought the whole concept behind how to kiss the Blarney stone was odd. I pictured this big rock out in the middle of a lawn somewhere. I did it of course. Now I look back and think how unsanitary that must have been..lol
All those places look amazing! What a great mother-daughter trip!
Your pictures are STUNNING. They look like postcards! Especially the cliffs. Yikes on the people going off the beaten path with their selfie sticks to take pictures. That is really living on the edge, literally! How cool that you got to kiss the Blarney Stone. Is there a reason that you’re supposed to do it upside-down?
I spent about 4 hours in Ireland but that is it. My husband fishes and would love to go but I am worried about the rain. LOL. SO many people love it though. Great photos and great mother / daughter photo !
Lol, I love Ireland. I’ve also kissed the stone but it’s not for good luck so much as it is to be given the gift of an eloquent tongue…and then you can make your own luck. 😀 Glad you had a fun trip!
So glad to hear that you had a great time on your trip. Ireland looks absolutely beautiful. I’d love to get there someday.
You had beautiful weather! Love how much you guys were able to get out and about. I’m sure she’ll cherish those memories with you forever!